Chapter 1

Haley started gathering her things through the apartment. Her day hadn't started well; the alarm didn't go off so she didn't wake up at the right time. She usually didn't use the alarm because she got used to waking up early everyday, but yesterday she worked overnight at home and went to bed almost at 3 am.

It wasn't necessary for her to do that work but she offered to do it anyways. She wish she didn't but oh well, now it was too late. Literally.

"Brian, come on. Did you get all your stuff?" Haley asks to her thirteen years old son while getting her cell phone and thinking to herself if she was forgetting anything.

"Yes, mom." He replied. Brian was a smart kid and very responsible. He got all that from his mother. Haley never forced him to be like that, but he really admired his mother for being very competent in her work. It was from her example that Brian learned how to be a good person.

Even thought Haley was always busy with work, she never let that affect her life with her son. Brian always came first. The problem was that Haley, herself, was always the last one on the list.

"Did you get your homework?"

"Yep"

"Did you brush your teeth?"

"Yep"

"Did I give you the money for your lunch?"

"Yep"

They were in the hall and Haley was closing the door. "Ok, where's the keys?" She asked.

"I think it's on the other side of the door mom." Brian answered a little amused.

"Why didn't say that before?" Haley exclaimed while looking at her son with a hand on her hips.

"Because it's funny seeing your reaction." He tells his mother with a grin.

"You like to see me suffer, huh?" Haley said messing his hair up.

"It never gets old." The boy answered laughing at the face his mom made.

Haley parked in front of school and looked at her watch. "Do you want me to pick you up later?"

"Can I go with Jess to the park? His old brother is in town so we wanted to play some basketball there. Is it okay?"

"Sure, you can go. Just don't forget the time to come back home and don't forget to call me, okay?"

"Okay. I gotta go."

"Alright. Have a good day. I love you." Haley said hugging her son.

"I love you too, mom."

"Good Morning, Rachel." Haley greeted her co-worker when she arrived at the work.

"You're late, Haley." Rachel stated.

"Yes, I know but I did the work." Haley told her and saw Rachel rolling her eyes as a response.

"That woman is a bitch." Kristen exclaimed sitting in her chair. Kristen and Haley were good friends, they got along since day one. She has always helped Haley every time couldn't be at work when something happened at home. They've been friends for almost six years, since Haley started working there.

When Haley first told Kristen she was a mother, Kristen was really surprised.

"She likes to bother me a lot." Haley sighed. She always tried to be nice to Rachel but only got nasty comments from the red haired woman. She doesn't care anymore but it\rquote s still annoying.

"That's because you're the best worker here. And the only reason she still has her job is because the boss bimbo is her secretary."

"Kristen!" Haley exclaimed.

"What Haley? You know it's true." She affirmed, laughing when saw her friend shaking her head.

Kristen kept looking at her friend and Haley eyed her back. "What now?" Haley asked knowing that something was up. "Nothing, I was just curious, wanting to know if you have plans for Saturday night?" Kristen asked innocently.

Haley gave her a wry smile before answering the question. "Yes, I'll stay with Brian."

"He can stay at one of his friend's." Kristen said, knowing that Haley always did that. "Haley, you can't stay single forever. You always made up some excuse, Brian is not a baby anymore. It's time for you to start dating again."

She knew that. But it was hard for her entering in this "world" again. She had tried sometimes, had been on a few dates with a few different guys, but it never got past the first date. Deep inside, she knew she never let it past the first one. It was like her heart had an alarm that went off every time she tried to start a new relationship.

"I just haven't found any interesting guy." Haley tries to reason.

"You don't even try." Kristen interjected. "You're a gorgeous woman, intelligent, funny and interesting. Every guy would like to go out with you, and I'm sure every man who works in this building has a crush on you. And you don't even notice that."

"You're exaggerating."

"Just think about it." Kristen tried to convince her.

Haley eyed her Kristen knowing she wouldn't give up. "Ok, I'll think about it." she nodded. Maybe Kristen was right, she thought.

Nathan was sitting on his couch drinking and thinking about life. He's twenty six year old, single, handsome and very rich. He was a famous basketball player and had everything he wanted.

Maybe not everything.

He still felt a hole in his life. And the last piece that was missing made everything else become too little, almost like nothing. He didn't want to be ungrateful for every thing he had gotten in his life. Nathan worked hard to reach his goals but he knew he was lucky to have the opportunity at the right time. But right now, it didn't make sense not having anyone to share everything.

Nathan heard the cell phone ring and went to get it. It was his manager.

"What do you want?"

"Nathan, did you forget you have a interview today?"

"I won't go." Nathan stated simply.

"You what? Nathan, you can't cancel at the last hour."

"Yes I can." He told his manager. "Besides, the interview is for a crappy magazine that only has gossip and shit like that."

Nathan heard his manager groan on the other side of the line, showing defeat. "Fine! I give up. Do what you want. Just don't come complaining if the magazine publishes bad things about you." He warned.

"Don't worry about it."

"I won't."

"Whatever. I gotta go." And then Nathan hang up. Looking at the time, Nathan decided to go out to clear his head. He needed some fresh air; his lonely apartment was suffocating him in the moment.

"What about a new game?" The boy suggested to the others.

"Okay, just one more because I'm too tired." The other boy said taking deep breaths while his hands rested on his knees.

"You may be a little rusty, Mike." Jess teased.

"Yeah, I really don't know why I picked you." Adam commented glaring at his friend.

"Oh, didn't you say you could beat us on the game all by yourself?" Jess teased his big brother.

"I thought so, but Brian there has definitely improved his game. I remember the last time we played and the game wasn't that hard."

"Maybe we can bet next time." Jess suggested.

"That's because Brian is on your team." Mike said.

"Let's stop the talking, can we go back to the game?"

"Mike, play a little more hard this time."

"Shut up Adam!"

Nathan watched the boys playing basketball for a while. It reminded him the time when he was their age and used to play at the river court. He had some good memories. Even though his dad always made like it was a nightmare, when Nathan was at the river court with his friends, he could enjoy the game.

The ball came his way while he was thinking about the past but with a reflex, caught the ball before it could hit his face.

The boys stopped dead on their tracks seeing the familiar face in front of them.

"Nathan Scott I'm a huge fan!" Someone finally said something.

Nathan looked at the boys face and saw the same reaction he always got from his fans. It was nice to be recognized for his work.

He asked if he could play with them. They couldn't believe what they heard but of course they agreed. They started playing for a while, with Nathan giving some instructions of how to shoot the ball or doing some dribbles. They listened to everything and tried to show the best to their idol.

It was getting late so they decided to finish the game. The boys actually didn't want to, but Nathan said it was better to stop because it was time to go home.

At home, Haley was in the kitchen finishing dinner when Brian appeared in the room. He had taken a shower right after he got home and finished doing his homework.

"You must be hungry, huh?" Haley questioned with a smile.

"Actually, I'm starving." Brian corrected her which made Haley laugh.

"Wow, was it the game or the homework that took all your energy?" She asked to his son while putting the food on his plate.

"Oh, it was definitely the game. The homework was really easy, I finished doing it in less than five minutes." He stated with a smirk.

"Is that right, smartass?"

"So how was the game?"

"It was great! We were playing there and then the ball want out of the court and someone got the ball and when we saw who it was..." Brian was telling Haley when her phone rang.

"Sorry, Hun. Just a minute." She excused herself and went to pink up the phone.

It was from work as always. Her boss was telling Haley to finish doing the report earlier. She had finished already but needed to check if everything alright. I guess I'll need to do that tonight, she thought.

"What did he want?" her son asked when she entered the room.

"He want me to send him the report earlier." She replied sitting on her chair to finish her dinner.

They re-started their conversation while finishing eating. Brian talked about his day at school, his new project he needed to do and Haley said she would help him. Even if he could do it all by himself, she loved to be part of it, helping and wanting to see what he did. She was a tutor in high school and now she has her son. She remembered how it was for her.

After dinner, he helped her with the dishes, they watched some TV and then they went to bed. Brian went to his bedroom to sleep, he was exhausted from the game. Haley placed herself on the center of her bed, and grabbed the papers that she had put on her nightstand before, she needed to finish her work.